Pictures show inside Riverside Leisure Centre ahead of filling swimming pool with water
It won't reopen until July
The Riverside Leisure Centre swimming pool will start to be filled with water next week ahead of the long-awaited reopening in July.
The poolside and health suite have been transformed since they were forced to close following a major fire in 2017.
The gym and sports halls were able to reopen later that year but, since then, many in the city have waited patiently for the swimming pool to reopen.
Saturday, July 24, is earmarked as the day when the swimming pool will finally reopen, and the main pool is due to start being refilled next week, a process which will take up to four weeks to complete.
And pictures released by Exeter City Council show that the tired and dated interior swimmers may remember has been swept away and replaced with a fresh new colour scheme, modern look and new facilities throughout, and that visitors will experience a completely new changing area, new health suite and sauna and new tiling.
The transformation has been created following a huge investment of around £5.6m from the City Council, which now runs Exeter’s leisure service directly and no longer uses a third party operator.
Cllr Duncan Wood, lead councillor for leisure and physical activity, said: “We’ve had a long wait but I am so pleased that the pool and health suite are finally set to reopen.
“The transformation is striking – this is now a fresh, bright and modern facility which will serve the residents of this city for decades to come.”
The huge transformation programme has created:
New changing areas and first floor changing rooms with new tiling, wall cladding, cubicles
New coinless lockers which open electronically – there will be no need for coins anywhere inside the leisure centre
New Health Suite which has been rebuilt with a steam room, sauna and spa pool
New acoustic baffles and wall acoustic material fitted above the pool
New flooring on the balcony and seating area has been fitted and modern spectator seating installed
New plant serving the main and learner pools, alongside other mechanical and electrical engineering work, to improve the future operation of the facility